Ephesians 1:15-23 (2)

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Ephesians 1:15–23 ESV
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1:15 ESV
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
Ephesians 1:16 ESV
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
Ephesians 1:17 ESV
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
Paul is praying. He never prays for material things. He is praying that his hearers would have spiritual perception… Christian character. He is not praying that God would give them something they don’t have, but rather reveal to them what is already theirs.
Philippians 1:9–11 ESV
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Colossians 1:9–12 ESV
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
And so, Paul is praying that the Ephesian believers would have their eyes opened. Notice 2 things… Paul believes that the opening of the eyes of their minds, or the enlightenment they needed, was something that came from the Holy Spirit.
John 14:25–26 ESV
“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
John 16:12–14 ESV
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
We cannot, without the help of the Holy Spirit, understand the things of God. We need the spirit to enlighten us or open our eyes.
Secondly, this enlightenment comes to the heart of the Christian- vs. 18
Ephesians 1:18 ESV
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
The inner man, the heart, has spiritual faculties that parallel the physical senses. The inner man can see (Ps. 119:18; John 3:3), hear (Matt. 13:9; Heb. 5:11), taste (Ps. 34:8; 1 Peter 2:3), smell (Phil. 4:18; 2 Cor. 2:14), and touch (Acts 17:27). This is what Jesus meant when He said of the people: “They seeing see not, and hearing they hear not” (Matt. 13:13). The inability to see and understand spiritual things is not the fault of the intelligence but of the heart. The eyes of the heart must be opened by the Spirit of God.
So what is Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church, and for us?

A Relationship with Christ

Ephesians 1:17 ESV
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
You can’t know Christ without a relationship.
To Know Christ is salvation.
John 17:3 ESV
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
To Know Christ is sanctification
Philippians 3:10 ESV
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
To Know the glory of Christ
1 Corinthians 13:9–12 ESV
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
We need to know God as savior, creator, redeemer, sustainer, forgiver, lover, Friend, Guide, whatever. The more we know him, the better our spiritual lives will be.
He also wants us to know His Calling on our lives.

A Calling From Christ

Ephesians 1:18 ESV
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
Paul wants us to understand the hope that is ours because of Christ’s calling on our lives.
Ephesians 4:4 ESV
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
This hope is not “I hope so”… rather it carries with it the assurance of the future.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 John 3:1–3 ESV
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Before Christ, we were without hope in this world.
Ephesians 2:12 ESV
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
And so, Paul prays that we will have a relationship with Christ, that we will know his call upon our lives and the hope that it gives.
But also, that we might know the Riches of God.

To Know the Riches of Christ

Ephesians 1:18 ESV
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
We have an inheritance in Christ that Paul mentioned earlier in eph 1.11
Ephesians 1:11 ESV
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
But that is not what Paul means here. Rather, His inheritance is in us. God sees us as part of his great wealth!
Ephesians 1:6 ESV
to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
Think about what Christ prayed for us...
John 17:24 ESV
Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
2 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV
when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
Colossians 3:4 ESV
When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Finally, Paul prays that we would know God’s power.

The Power of God

Ephesians 1:19–23 ESV
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
God’s power is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In the OT, there were many ways that God’s power was seen...
in the creation Is. 40.12-27
His Miracle at the Red Sea
Jeremiah 16:14 ESV
“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’
The power of God is seen in his resurrection, and
What does this meant for us today?
Ephesians 1:22–23 ESV
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
As believers, we are Christ’s body. There is a living connection between us and Christ. We share in everything of Christ.
Ephesians 2:6 ESV
and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Paul’s prayer for the Church:
A Relationship with Christ
A Calling from Christ (hope)
To know the Riches of Christ
To Know the Power of His Resurrection

We Have Everything Because Christ Gave It All

A Relationship with Christ
A Calling from Christ (hope)
To know the Riches of Christ
To Know the Power of His Resurrection
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